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Brexit: Jeremy Corbyn demands election to 'break deadlock'

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has stepped up calls for a general election "at the earliest opportunity" to "break the deadlock" over Brexit.

In a speech, he said a new government would have a fresh mandate to negotiate a better withdrawal deal with the EU.

He told Theresa May: "If you are so confident in your deal, call that election, and let the people decide."

The Conservatives said Labour did not have a plan for Brexit and were "playing politics".

Mr Corbyn has resisted growing calls from within his own party to get behind another EU referendum, insisting an election is still his top priority if Theresa May's Brexit deal is rejected by MPs next week.

The UK is set to leave the European Union on 29 March. The withdrawal agreement between the UK and EU - covering things like trade, expat citizens' rights and setting up a 20-month transition period - will only come into force if MPs back it in a vote.

Labour is set to vote against Mrs May's deal next Tuesday and if, as widely expected, it is defeated, they are expected to start moves to trigger a general election.

Asked if this would happen immediately, Mr Corbyn said Labour would "table a motion of no confidence in the government at the moment we judge it to have the best chance of success".

If a majority of MPs back a no confidence motion, the government will get 14 days to try and win another confidence vote - if it can't do that, a general election will be held.

Mr Corbyn said: "Clearly, Labour does not have enough MPs in parliament to win a confidence vote on its own. So members across the House should vote with us to break the deadlock."

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which is also against Mrs May's deal, has said it will back her in any confidence vote.

As debate on the Brexit deal resumed in the House of Commons for the second of five days, it emerged that some of Mr Corbyn's Leave-supporting backbench MPs have been speaking to Theresa May about backing her deal if she can guarantee environmental standards and rights for workers.

But Mr Corbyn said Labour did not "endorse or accept" a reported offer from the government to adopt an amendment to protect workplace and environmental rights.

"It's already been quite clearly and emphatically rejected by the TUC and leading trade unions. They say it simply doesn't guarantee the protections that we are seeking."

Labour MPs on the anti-Brexit side of the party are calling on Mr Corbyn to get behind the campaign for a new EU referendum - something polls suggest is supported by the majority of Labour members.

Mr Corbyn has said his preferred option is to trigger a general election and, having won it, seek to delay Brexit in order to negotiate a better deal with Brussels, which he says would see the UK in a permanent customs union with the EU and with a close relationship with the single market.

This policy, together with a "radical" Labour government would kick start economic growth, and "allow a renaissance in our manufacturing sector, which will create good, secure jobs and help restore pride and prosperity to parts of our country that have been ignored for too long", he argued.

If Labour is not able to get a general election, Mr Corbyn said all options were "on the table, including the option of campaigning for a public vote".

Asked if a fresh referendum would be in Labour's election manifesto, he said: "Our policy would be to negotiate urgently with the EU as and when we take office, but clearly a general election must come first in order to do that.

"Policy-making is made by the Labour Party in a democratic form and that policy will be put together and put into a manifesto in any election that's coming up."

He said he understood the concerns of younger voters, who polls suggest overwhelmingly backed another referendum on staying in the EU, but he also understood those who had voted to leave the EU and he wanted to bring the country together.

In a speech to Labour activists at an electrical products manufacturer in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Mr Corbyn said Theresa May would forfeit the right to govern if she cannot get her Brexit deal through the Commons.

"A government that cannot get its business through the Commons is no government at all. It has lost its mandate so must go to the country to seek another."

Mr Corbyn vowed to heal the divide between Leave and Remain voters, saying the "real divide" in the UK was between the "many" who "do the work, create the wealth and pay taxes" and the "few" who "set the rules, reap the rewards and so often dodge taxes".

He said: "People across the country, whether they voted Leave or Remain, both know that the system isn't working for them. Some see the European Union as a defence against insecurity and hostility. Others see the European Union as part of an establishment that plunged them into insecurity and hostility in the first place.

"But it's the failed system rigged against the many to protect the interests of the few that is the real cause of inequality and insecurity, whether in Tottenham or Mansfield.

"And the real solution is to transform Britain to work in the interests of the vast majority, by challenging the entrenched power of a privileged elite.

"That is how we can help to heal the referendum's deep divisions."

The government has lost two Brexit votes in two days. The first defeat limits the government's financial powers in the event of a no-deal departure. The second forces the PM to announce new plans within three days if her deal fails in the Commons.

It won't break the deadlock. It will mean a different hung Parliament. There will be no time for the new deal he seems to think he can get. It will waste another four weeks when there are only thirteen left to No Deal exit.

Jeremy Corbyn has turned down an invitation to a state dinner with "misogynist" Donald Trump when he visits the UK in June.

The veteran left-winger is the latest in a number of politicians to snub the US president, including Commons Speaker John Bercow and Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable.

Mr Corbyn argued the "pomp and ceremony" of an official state visit was not needed and criticised Theresa May, who he said had "again opted to kowtow to this US administration".

The Labour leader said: "Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honour a president who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric.

"Maintaining an important relationship with the United States does not require the pomp and ceremony of a state visit. It is disappointing that the prime minister has again opted to kowtow to this US administration.

"I would welcome a meeting with President Trump to discuss all matters of interest."

A spokeswoman for the Speaker's Office said: "Mr Speaker has been invited to the banquet, but he will not be attending."

John Bercow has previously said that Mr Trump should not be allowed to address parliament
Mr Trump's visit is due to take place from 3 June to 5 June.

The White House has already confirmed that the president will meet with the Queen and hold talks with Mrs May.

The prime minister and Mr Trump will then attend the D-Day events in Southsea Common, Portsmouth, before going to Normandy for further commemorative events.

Such occasions often include visiting the head of state and addressing both Houses of Parliament, but Mr Bercow said in 2017 that Mr Trump should not be allowed to make a formal address.

Mr Trump held talks with Mrs May when he made a working visit to the UK last year.

Lord Fowler, Mr Bercow's counterpart in the House of Lords, has said there is a "strong case" for the US president being afforded such an honour.